


The Ball

by loisselina (LoisSelina)



Series: Step Robin [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 7 year old David, Alternate Universe, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, F/M, Father Figures, Gen, Murder, evil queen ruth, parental Robin Hood, parental figure, step father robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-02 13:16:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20276512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoisSelina/pseuds/loisselina
Summary: A ball at the palace causes David to see something he shouldn't have





	The Ball

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justanoutlaw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/gifts).

David hated the Royal balls with passion. 

He stood in his bedchambers being dressed by the people who he had been dressed by his entire life, he wished he could convince them to not dress him, instead he could stay and play in his room, or perhaps he could pretend to be sick again, maybe Robin would come and visit him. They could have desserts sent up from the kitchen. 

“Hello, David.” 

David turned around hearing the Queen’s voice, it wasn’t often he got to see her she was so busy, and it was even rarer she came to see him. He bowed as the servants in the room did the same. “Mother.”

“Leave us, please.” 

David finally gained the courage to look up at Ruth’s face. “You look very beautiful, mother.” 

Ruth smiled. She held her arms out towards her son. “Aren’t you going to come and say hello, dear?” 

David smiled and walked over to her, giving her a hug. He wondered, for a moment, what it would have been like to have been normal, maybe then his mother wouldn’t be so called. Or perhaps if his father hadn’t been as mean to David and Ruth then his mother wouldn’t have closed herself off. He had heard whispered rumours, while poking around the nooks and crannies of the castle, of how dark his mother could be. She hadn’t always been like this, she had used to be nice, good, and kind, apparently, something had happened when he was a baby to turn her heart dark. 

“Okay, that is enough.” She let go of him but was still giving him a small smile. “You look very handsome, my little prince. Are you excited about the ball?” 

David fidgetted. 

“Hmm, I see.” Ruth hummed. “Well if you stay out of trouble then your step father has convinced me it could be a good idea to take you with us on our next tour of the kingdom.”

“Really?” 

Ruth’s smile grew. “Really.” She promised. 

David suddenly felt guilty that he had thought bad of her at all.

* * *

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robin had never been a fan of balls, he preferred to be outdoors, which was a long shot from ballrooms which were crammed with as many royals as possible. He had been to many, as the son of a minor prince, and even as a child he hated them,  _ completely _ . 

He hated them even more now. There were some princes and princesses who he liked, but there were even more that he hated. 

He spent his time on his throne beside Ruth’s, he danced a couple of times with her and when she tired and returned to her seat he stood talking with some of the other men. He had seen David earlier on but hadn’t seen him since he took it upon himself to go and find him, he knew his father was meant to be away in Agrabah, but he wouldn’t put it past him. 

Robin didn’t know anything was wrong until all the guests around him stilled, the orchester stopped their playing, as he turned to face his wife. 

There were rumours of her being able to perform magic, that her mother was part fairy, as Robin watched the blood roll from the heart she had ripped out down Ruth’s pale arm he knew that the rumours were correct. 

“I’m sure no one else will be so careless as to stand on my dress again?” She looked around with cold eyes. The silence told her that they understood. 

There was a thud as the body collapsed onto the floor. 

Ruth had crushed her heart. 

“The ball is over. Leave as fast as you can.” She announced, sweeping out of the room. 

He was in shock. He knew she was cold and a little dark, but this was… she was like his father. He wanted to run, he could run to a different kingdom, he could live in the woods, he could be free of his father and of Ruth…. But he would be tracked down and killed if he took David with him, and he couldn’t just leave him like this, to turn evil or into what he had, his father’s puppet. 

The hall was still silent. He picked back up his pretence and growled out the ballroom full of people. “Leave!”

As they all scarpered Robin went to search for David, to try and explain what had happened, well, to lie about it so David wouldn’t be terrified of his mother. 

* * *

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took him a while but eventually found him on the landing of the second floor which overlooked the ballroom. He was sat very still, his legs hanging between the railings, he was staring down at the pool of blood on the marble floor as servants tried to clear it up. 

Robin walked over and took a seat beside him on the floor, dangling his legs down beside David’s, he realised that the boy had a pad of paper and a pencil on his lap. 

He had been drawing when his mother had murdered someone in cold blood, for  _ possibly _ stepping upon her gown. 

“Hey squirt.” He greeted his voice low and soothing. He knew David heard him, he could see the fear on his face. Robin couldn’t try and just distract him. “I guess you saw what happened?”

“S-She killed her… Mother killed that lady…”

He didn’t know why then…    
Robin slowly nodded. “She did.”    
He hated himself as a lie passed his lips next, Ruth didn’t deserve the heroics of the lie, but David deserved to not be scared of his deceased father and his evil Queen mother.    
“The lady threatened your safety. Your mother’s justice was swift, but it was to protect you.”

“So she… she killed her? I don’t want anyone to be killed over me.”

“That’s because your a good boy. I agree that it’s not right to kill anyone, especially not like that, but it was what your mother decided was best… maybe she knows something we don’t. It’s probably best we don’t speak about this to your mother, she’ll be upset knowing that you saw it. Understand.”

David nodded but looked sad. “I’m never going to kill anyone.  _ Ever _ . It’s wrong. No matter what.” 

Robin wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “Good. If you ever kill anyone I’m grounding you from desserts for a week.” He tickled his side to make him laugh. “Come on, I think if we ask Nora nicely she’ll whip up some desserts for us to eat, our secret.”

“Can you read more King Arthur stories to me?” 

Robin sighed as he stood up, helping his step son to his feet soon after. He wasn’t sure if he was pretending to himself that he didn’t like spending time with the boy. “I suppose, so long as you then go to sleep, it is getting late.” 

David could do with listening to a morally good king, perhaps it would teach him how to not end up like either of his parents, Robin decided. Hell, maybe Robin could do with learning some things too. Maybe he could try and turn the Queen good, or at least protect people from her rare.

  
  



End file.
